Although ARM 7 (LPC2148) and ARM cortex-m series is controller. But when someone asks about ARM, we use the word Processor not controller why??
Hello,I think ARM7 and Cortex-M (and even Cortex-A/R) are CPUs for either microprocessors and microcontrollers. However AMR clearly announces Cortex-M series are CPUs for microcontrollers after appearance of Cortex-M3.As jens says the differences of microprocessor and microcontroller are their configurations. The main point would be whether program memory is included or not.That is, an ordinary microcontroller includes flash memory as a program memory.But as flash memory access speed is too slow, the microcontroller cannot increase its clock speed. On the other hand, the microprocessor can be made high speed as the fast memory exists out of the chip.
Best regards,
Yasuhiko Koumoto.
The reason I do not distinguish microcontrollers by whether they have flash memory or not, is because there are flash-less microcontrollers as well
Example: LPC4310 ... LPC4370 (the ones ending in zero do not have on-chip flash memory, but those ending in 3, 5 or 7 do).
Hello jens,
I think there is no rule without exceptions.
If a vendor calls it a microcontroller, it would be a microcontroller.
If a vendor calls it a microprocessor, it would be a microprocessor.
I think that is an actual thing.
yasuhikokoumoto wrote: If a vendor calls it a microcontroller, it would be a microcontroller. If a vendor calls it a microprocessor, it would be a microprocessor.
yasuhikokoumoto wrote:
I am convinced that there must be somehow that a vendor determines whether it's a microcontroller or microprocessor.
-Hopefully not by flipping a coin, that is.
So far, I've only seen the Cortex-M being called a microcontroller.
-But it someone were to implement the ARM core alone on a chip, without any bus, peripheral interfaces (such as SPI, I2C, etc..), without any on-chip RAM and without any on-chip program memory, I would say it's a microprocessor (as it will require external RAM and program-memory in order to do its jobs).
According to Techopedia, the definition is as follows:
A microcontroller is a computer present in a single integrated circuit which is dedicated to perform one task and execute one specific application. It contains memory, programmable input/output peripherals as well a processor. Microcontrollers are mostly designed for embedded applications and are heavily used in automatically controlled electronic devices such as cellphones, cameras, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.
A microcontroller is a computer present in a single integrated circuit which is dedicated to perform one task and execute one specific application.
It contains memory, programmable input/output peripherals as well a processor. Microcontrollers are mostly designed for embedded applications and are heavily used in automatically controlled electronic devices such as cellphones, cameras, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.
Wikipedia also specifies that program-memory may optionally be included:
A microcontroller (sometimes abbreviated µC, uC or MCU) is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of Ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM.
On the same page, the first microcontroller created is mentioned:
The Smithsonian Institution says TI engineers Gary Boone and Michael Cochran succeeded in creating the first microcontroller in 1971. The result of their work was the TMS 1000, which became commercially available in 1974. It combined read-only memory, read/write memory, processor and clock on one chip and was targeted at embedded systems.
Since Texas Instruments was the first company to create a microcontroller, they might be the ones to best define what makes a microprocessor differ from a microcontroller.